The show was a successor of two 'pilots' which went under the title The All Star Comedy Show. Monkey Trousers too features an all-star cast alongside Vic and Bob.

Many of the characters that recur throughout the series have an ineptitude at their chosen profession: the Geordie Astronauts (Reeves, Mortimer, and Mark Benton) drive Mission Control to distraction and are so gormless that they never get off the ground; the Vicar (Reeves) has a chronic paucity of interest in the Bible; the estate agent Alasdair (Mortimer) answers every question from potential buyers by saying 'I don't know'; the naturalist Dave Fletcher (Tim Healy) is, by turns, terrified of nature and intent on destroying it.

The TV antique expert Dick Baker (Matt Berry) earns himself the nickname "Windy" because of his incontinent onscreen belching; Roy of Roy's Toys (Steve Coogan) scares off every customer who ever comes into his shop; and the so-called Croc Botherer (Mortimer) only ever manages to bother butterflies, fish, and a bush-weasel.